Hi David,

Good question.

Its just an estimate, not an actual log of time spent. If you care to ask my boss, he may tell you that my estimates are notorius ! (The same applies for my estimates of my calorific intake!) So, my times could be well off. BTW, I started trying to keep an actual log of time once, but kept forgetting to update it.

When I estimate building time, its just the time spent actually working on the plane, not the amount of time spent in the workshop - which is easily 50% higher due to everything from cleaning and preparing my tools to just standing there thinking. (or staring at the various posters on the walls - yumm!)

I've built highly detailed scale R/C models in which I put in many hundreds of hours just to get everything perfect. My Bobcat, on the other hand, isn't meant to win any awards, so I'm not putting that level of work into it.

You're doing things I'm not. 5 1/2 hours worth of puttying the hatch ? I only have a small amount of putty at the front and rear of the hatch, which took very little time. 2 coats of resin ? Nope - just one. As for the finish - well, mine's a turbine trainer / beater, so again I'm not putting in the same level of effort as you.

This brings to mind a conversation we had at the field a while ago. One of my club's best scale builders told us he was bringing a G-Shark (an ARF) one day instead of his warbirds. Surprised, I asked him why he owned an ARF, and he said that he had just wanted something that he could throw together really quickly. When he brought the aircraft out, it was immaculate, and had beautiful detailing everywhere. His idea of a "quick throw together airplane" was a higher standard than most people's "scale jobs", and he probably had several hundred hours in that "ARF". In other words, you can't really compare the times for "just building" (like some of us do) with the times for true craftmanship (which it sounds like you do).

Later,
Gordon